Railroad-tie



' PATBNTED JAN. 12, 1904.

H. BRUNSON. RAILROAD TIE.

APPLICATION FILED 1113 2, 1903.

H0 MODEL.

INVENTOR mm WITNESSES A TTORN E Y I'Hi "cams PET railroad-ties.

UNITED STATES Patented January 12, 1904.

HORACE BRUNSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

RAILROAD-TIE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 749,163, dated January12, 1904.

Application filed March 2, 1903.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HORACE BRUNSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented a certain new and useful. Improvement in Railroad-Ties, ofwhich the following is-a full, clear, concise, and exact description,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of thisspecification.

My invention relates to improvements in It has for its object to producea device of this character-which will not be subject to destruction byexposure to the weather or the elements.

A further object ofthe present invention is to so brace or reinforce thedevice that it will not be liable to bebroken when subjected to heavystrain.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating the preferred embodiment ofmy invention,

3 Figure 1 is a side-elevation of my improved railroad-tie. Fig. 2 is anend view thereof. Fig. 3 is a perspective View of one end of the tie,showing the position of the reinforcing-s'trips in dotted lines. Fig. 4.is a perspective view of the end of a tie with the cement in which thereinforcing-strips may be broken away to more clearly disclose theposition of said reinforcing-strips. Fig. 5 is a detail view showingmore clearly the means of fastening the rail upon the tie.

Referring now to the drawings, which show the preferred manner ofconstructing my im proved railroad-tie, a mass of cement or othersuitable material 1, which is not liable to destruction by exposure tothe weather, is suit ably formed to be used as a railroad-tie. Withinsaid mass of material are embedded strips of metal 2, which arepreferably arched and may be of any form, such as a rod or bar, anangular plate, or a T-shaped strip, These strips preferably extendlengthwise of the tie and are preferably curved so that the ends willlie about midway between the top and bottom of the tie, while theircentral portionlies near the surface of either the top or bottom por-Serial No. 145,769. (No model.)

tion' of the tie. Preferably three arched strips are arranged in theupper portion of the tie, while two strips which are disposed betweenthe strips in the upper portion of the tie are embeddedv in the lowerportion thereof. Also within the cement are preferably embedded tubes 3,which have a flange 4 formed upon the outer surface thereof to preventthe withdrawal of the tubes from the cement, and said tubes arepreferably so arranged that their flanges will be engaged by one or'moreof the strips within the mass of cement. Within each tube is placed afilling 5 of some suitable material, such as lead or a plug of wood,into which a spike 6 or other means of fastening may be driven for thepurpose of securing the rails of the track to the tie.

A railroad-tie constructed as herein proposed will not be liable todestruction by the weather, as are the wooden ties now eXtensively usedand which are very short lived. Of course amass of cement or other'suchmaterial is necessarily brittle, and I therefore strengthen the same byembedding the strips of metal within the mass of material from which thetie is composed. The arching or curving of these strips considerablyadds to the strengthening effect of the tie. A railroad-tie isnecessarily subjected to the greatest pressure at the ends, andtherefore is very liable to break at the center. The arrangement of thestrips as herein set forth so strengthens the device which I haveproduced that it will be able to more than withstand the pressure towhich it is subjected in use.

It may be desirable to provide a resilient support for the rails of thetrack upon the tie, and this might be accomplished in various ways, asby laying a strip of some soft material, such as wood or some otherresilient material, upon the surface of the tie underneath the rail, ora special bearing for the rail might be set in the cement.

Of course the arrangement of the strips may be varied from that hereindescribed and more or less may be provided, according to thecircumstances and the strain to which the tie will be subjected.Furthermore, these strips may be of any form and may be arched so thattheir ends will be near one side, while their central portion will benear the opposite side or may have a different curvature from thatherein shown. Also the tubes which prevent the cement of the tie frombreaking when a spike is driven into the soft material contained withinsaid tubes may be of different form from that herein described, or theymay be dispensed with altogether. Moreover, other means for fasteningthe rails of the track to the tie than that I have herein described maybe employed Without changing the purpose of my invention.

The invention which I have made is not necessarily limited torailroad-ties, for it may be employed in the construction of beams forbridges and buildings, &c. or in any other places which may from time totime become apparent.

The expression curved from the bottom toward the top as employed in thespecification contemplates not only arranging a curved strip in theblock with its ends disposed toward the top and its central portiontoward the bottom of the block, but also'placing a curved strip in theblock with its central portion arranged toward the top and its endstoward the bottom of the block.

Herein I have described only the preferred manner of carrying out myinvention, and I therefore reserve the right to make such changes asfairly fall within the scope thereof.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

1. An article of the character described, comprising a mass of suitablematerial formed into an elongated block having a flat top and a flatbottom which are substantially parallel to each other, and a reinforcingstrip embedded therein which is arranged substantially lengthwise of theblock and curved from the top toward the bottom thereof, substantiallyas described.

2. An article of the character described, comprising a mass of suitablematerial formed into an elongated block having a flat top and a flatbottom which are substantially parallel to each other, and a pluralityof reinforcing strips embedded therein which are arranged substantiallylengthwise of the block and curved from the bottom toward the topthereof, substantially as described.

3. A device of the character described, comprising a mass of cement orother similar material formed into a suitable block, and a series ofarched strips embedded therein, said strips being oppositely curved andarranged parallel to each other, substantially as described.

4. An article of the character described,

comprising a mass of suitable material formed into an elongated blockand having a plurality of oppositely-curved reinforcing-strips embeddedWithin the same, which are arranged substantially lengthwise of theblock and curved from the bottom toward the top thereof, substantiallyas described.

5. An article of the character described, comprising a mass of suitablematerial formed into an elongated block, and a series ofreiniforcing-strips embedded therein, said strips being curved so thatthe central portion of some of said strips is arranged near the bottomof the block, and a central portion of others is arranged near the topof the block, the ends of said strips being arranged in substantiallythe same plane, substantially as described.

6. An article of the character described, comprising a mass of suitablematerial formed into an elongated block having a flat top and a flatbottom which are substantially parallel to each other, a plurality ofreinforcingstrips embedded therein which are arranged substantiallylengthwise of the block and curved from the bottom toward the topthereof, and means for securing the rails of the track to said block,substantially as described.

7. An article of the character described, comprising a block of cementor other suitable material, tubes arranged within said block, suitablematerial placed within said tubes in which a spike or other means offastening the rails of a track in position may be secured, means forholding said tubes in place, and reinforcing-strips embedded in saidblock and oppositely curved to one another, substantially as described.

8. An article of the character described, comprising a block of cementor other suitable material, tubes arranged within said block havingflanges to prevent their withdrawal therefrom, suitable material placedwithin said tubes in which a spike or other means for fastening therails of a track in place may be secured, and reinforcing-stripsembedded within said block and oppositely curved to one another,substantially as described.

9. An article of the character described, comprising a block of cementor other suitable material suitable as a railroad-tie, a tube arrangedwithin said block and having a flange to prevent its withdrawaltherefrom and suitable material placed within said tube into which aspike or other means for fastening the rails of the track in position onthe track may be driven, substantially as described.

10. An article of the character described, comprising a block of cementor other suitable material, a tube arranged within said block and havinga flange to prevent its withdrawal therefrom, suitable material into Inwitness whereof I have hereunto sub-' which a spike or other fasteningmay be scribed my name in the presence of two witdriven to secure therails of the track in posinesses.

tion, reinforcing-strips for said block embed- HORACE BRUNSON. 5 dedtherein, one or more of said reinforcing- Witnesses:

strips engaging the flange upon said tube, J. W. HODGMAN,

substantially as described. L. J. SOHUENEMANN.

